India ODI captain Rohit Sharma is making sure he looks his razor-sharp and focused ahead of the team's next 50-over assignment against Australia, starting on October 19 Down Under. The first match will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth. This will mark the right-hand batter's comeback in the ODIs after eight months when he walks for the coin toss with Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh. Earlier during the IPL 2025 season, the 38-year-old announced his retirement from Tests, & there is heavy speculation around his ODI future.
While Rohit might have boldly said, "he is going nowhere" from the 50-over format after India's Champions Trophy 2025 win, questions still persist. Recently, a Dainik Jagran report stated that the ODI skipper, as well as Kohli, will play their final ODI series Down Under, and the two icons might be asked to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy if they harbor the desire & dream to continue featuring in ODIs till the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, & Namibia.
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Rohit, who was visibly shattered and heartbroken after India fell short in the ODI World Cup 2023 final to Australia, is aiming to avenge for that loss in the ODI World Cup 2027 and bid adieu to his international career on a high. However, his ambition to achieve that glory is not entirely his call, as a lot will depend on chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir. However, Rohit, for now, is controlling what is in his hand, like focusing on training and fitness.
The 38-year-old is currently sweating it out in Mumbai with his close friend Abhishek Nayar, who was also the assistant coach of India earlier this year. On Thursday evening, the ODI skipper shared a video on his Instagram, showcasing his nets session he had. In the video, he stated," I am here again. It feels really good."
"That felt good," Rohit wrote as the caption on Instagram.
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Rohit eyes grand comeback, participation in playing India A matches in doubt
Before the Australia ODI series, it would be interesting to see whether Rohit plays three ODIs against India A, starting on September 30 in Kanpur. The All India Men's Selection Committee is yet to announce the squad for the India A series, leading to speculations on Rohit & Kohli's participation in the games.
Notably, after the ODI skipper's Test retirement announcement in May this year, Kohli followed soon by calling it quits in red-ball cricket, just a month away from the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Both batters endured dismal form in the New Zealand home Test series and an away Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia; this might have prompted the senior batters to retire from the oldest format of the game.
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However, there is no concern whatsoever about the icons form in ODI cricket, while Rohit scored a sizzling match-winning fifty in the finals of the Champions Trophy 2025 event, Kohli oozed class against arch-rivals Pakistan by scoring a brilliant ton.
